A bill to provide for certain military retirees and dependents a special Medicare part B enrollment period during which the late enrollment penalty is waived and a special Medigap open enrollment period during which no underwriting is permitted

4 Pages·1997·0.17 MB·English

by  United States. Congress. Senate

JUN25
105thcongress S.912
1stSession
To provide for certain militaryretirees and dependents a special medicare
part B enroDment period duringwhich the late enrollment penaltyis
waivedandaspecialraedigap open enrollment periodduringwhichno
underwritingispermitted.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June16,1997
Mr.Bondintroducedthefollowingbill;whichwasreadtwiceandreferredto
theCommitteeonFinance
A
BILL
To provide for certain military retirees and dependents a
special medicare part B enrollment period duringwhich
the late enrollment penalty is waived and a special
medigap open enrollment period duringwhich no under-
writingispermitted.
1 BeitenactedhytheSenateandHouseofRepresenta-
2 tivesoftheUnitedStatesofAmericainCongressassembled,
—
2
1 SECTION1.MEDICAREPARTBSPECIALENROLLMENTPE-
2 RIODANDWAIVEROFPARTBLATEENROLL-
3 MENT PENALTY AND MEDIGAP SPECIAL
4 OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD FOR CERTAIN
5 MILITARYRETIREESANDDEPENDENTS.
6 (a) Medicare Part B Special Enrollment Pe-
7 RIOD;WaiverofPartBPenaltyforLateEnroll-
8 MENT.
—
9 (1) In general. In the case of any eligible
10 individual (as defined in subsection (c)), the Sec-
11 retary ofHealth and Human Services shall provide
12 for a special enrollmentperiod duringwhichthe in-
13 dividual may enroll under part B oftitle XVTTT of
14 the Social SecurityAct (42 U.S.C. 1395j et seq.).
15 Such period shall be for a period of 6 months and
16 shallbeginwiththe firstmonththatbegins atleast
17 45daysafterthedateofenactmentofthisAct.
—
IS (2) Coverage period. In the case ofan eli-
19 gihleindividualwhoenrollsduringthespecialenroU-
20 ment period providedunderparagraph (1), the cov-
21 erageperiodunderpartB oftitleXVIH ofthe So-
22 cial SecurityAct shallbegin on the first dayofthe
23 month following the month in which the individual
24 enroUs.
-i
25 (3) Waiver of part b late enrollment^
—
26 PENALTY. Inthe caseofanehgibleindividualwho
•S912IS
—
1 enrollsduringthespecialenrollmentperiodprovided
2 underparagraph (1), there shallbenoincreasepur-
3 suant to section 1839(b) ofthe Social SecurityAct
4 (42 U.S.C. 1395r(b)) inthemonthlypremiumunder
5 partBoftitleXVinofsuchAct. •
6 (b) Medigap Special Open Enrollment Pe-
—
7 RIOD. Notwithstandinganyotherprovisionoflaw,anis-
8 suerofamedicaresupplementalpohcy(asdefinedinsec-
9 tion 1882(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
10 1395ss))—
11 • (1) may not deny or condition the issuance or
12 effectiveness ofa medicare supplementalpolicy; and
13 (2) may not discriminate in the pricing ofthe
14 policyonthe basis ofthe individual's health status,
15 medical condition (includingbothphysical and men-
16 tal illnesses), claims experience, receipt of health
17 care, medical history, genetic information, evidence
18 of insurability (including conditions arising out of
19 actsofdomesticviolence),ordisability;
20 in the case of an eligible individual who seeks to enroll
21 duringthe 6-monthperioddescribedinsubsection (a)(1).
—
22 (c) Eligible Individual Defined. In this sec-
23 tion,theterm"eligibleindividual"meansanindividual
24 (1)who, asofthedateoftheenactmentofthis
25 Act, has attained 65 years of age and was eligible
'S912IS
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
1 to enroll under part B oftitle XVIII ofthe Social
2 SecurityAct,and
3 (2)whoatthetimetheindividualfirstsatisfied
4 paragraph (1) or (2) of section 1836 ofthe Social
5 SecurityAct(42U.S.C. 1395o)—
6 (A) was a covered beneficiary (as defined
7 in section 1072(5) of title 10, United States
8 ' Code),and
9 (B) didnotelecttoenroll (ortobedeemed
10 enrolled)undersection 1837oftheSocialSecu-
11 rityAct (42 U.S.C. 1395p) duringthe individ-
12 ual'sinitialenrollmentperiod.
13 The SecretaryofHealth and Human Services shall con-
14 suitwiththe Secretary^ofDefenseintheidentificationof
15 eligibleindividuals.
O
1
S912IS